MONTHLY LOTTERY – FRIENDS OF LYMPSTONE CHURCH (FOLC)
It’s that time of the year again when you can help support the physical upkeep of Lympstone Church and also be in with a chance of winning a monthly prize of £50.00 in the Friends of Lympstone Church Annual Lottery!
Friends of Lympstone Church is a charity set up almost 40 years ago that raises money to ensure that Lympstone’s oldest building, the village church, stays in good repair. Over the past four decades, FoLC has raised around £65,000 to pay for the repair and maintenance of the church building, major projects including the re-roofing of the Church, repair of the tower’s stonework, repairing windows and the conservation of memorial plaques, amongst other things. This year, pointing the external stone- and brick-work is high on the agenda. Excluding the costs of repairs and maintenance, the annual running costs of the church are approximately £83,000, which are borne by the regular congregation, so FoLC’s contribution to repairs and maintenance is invaluable.
Maintaining the church building in good condition enables it to be used by the whole community. Aside from the obvious services, weddings, baptisms and funerals, the church is also a warm, safe space for community events: Tick Tock children’s club, a dedicated warm space for villagers during the most recent winter when fuel prices were so high, and for one-offs such as The Christmas Tree Festival 2024 and Lympstone Entertainments Concerts like Queen Gwendoline’s Speech in August 2024. The church also provides the setting for important national civic occasions such as Remembrance Day, and the celebration of Royal events FoLC raises money from various events that it organises including the annual cricket match between the Village and St Peter’s School and various interesting talks in the church and village hall. However, its largest fund-raiser is the monthly Lottery, which runs from April to March each year. In 2024, the FoLC lottery raised £2,231.
One ticket, costing £10.00, will enter you into the monthly draw for a whole year. Each month the owner of the winning ticket receives a prize of £50.00.
FoLC’s dedicated and friendly village lottery ticket sellers start selling in January ready for the new FoLC lottery year and will be knocking on your door in the first few months of 2025. So buy a ticket (or several!) and give yourself a chance of winning! Your generous participation will also keep the Church wind- and water-proof! If you are out when we call and you’d like to give yourself a chance of winning the monthly draw, as well as helping preserve our wonderful historic Church building, please email me or contact Ian Scott (FoLC Chair) and we will make sure you have a ticket. FoLC is a charity independent of any religious affiliation or organisation. FoLC plays no part on the day-to-day running of Lympstone Church. No money raised by FoLC is used for day-to-day running costs of Lympstone Church. FoLC is deliberately structured to avoid any religious requirement from its members and donors.
Andrew Minter ajminterten@gmail.com
